


A Visit to the Museum

by Snacky



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Deviates From Canon, Gen, Last Battle AU, Narnia Fic Exchange 2018, Narnia History, Narnian Subcultures, Post-Last Battle, Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-20 10:15:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16135160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snacky/pseuds/Snacky
Summary: Helena Oakheart, Chief Curator of the Narnia National Museum, leads a school group on a tour, and meets some students very interested in Narnian history.





	A Visit to the Museum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syrena_of_the_lake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syrena_of_the_lake/gifts).



> For the prompt:
> 
>  
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> _I’d like to see an archaeologist (or monarch or ordinary citizen) in Narnia (or Calormen, Archenland or Telmar) puzzling over some remnant of Spare Oom — like Edmund’s torch, but it doesn’t have to be technological. It also doesn’t have to come from the Pevensies — it would be great to see what the Four themselves made of ancient artifacts from the reign of King Frank and Queen Helen. Would it stir vague memories like the lamppost did later?_
> 
>  
> 
> _Or, even more puzzling: what if Eustace or a Pevensie discovers a Narnian artifact in a British museum? (Perhaps through the caves that the Telmarines originally came from and some returned to?) Could also apply to fauna (dragons and paleontology!) or literary texts, or...? Find something that excites your curiosity and take me with you!_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Maybe not exactly what you were thinking of, but this prompt inspired me! I hope you like it! Thank you to Victoria for looking it over!

The best parts of her day, Helena Oakheart thought, were the children's tours.

She was the Chief Curator of the Narnia National Museum, an imposing edifice in the heart of the Narnian capital, Paravel City. It was filled with treasures from every era of Narnian history, from the earliest days of King Frank I, and his queen consort, Helen, spanning the centuries and featuring artifacts rescued from the Long Winter (the current exhibit featuring the history of Queen Jadis and remnants left from her reign was controversial, to say the least — even in this modern era there were many who claimed she was a witch, and her reign of torture did not deserve a spot in the museum), treasures from the Golden Age, rooms and rooms devoted to the Telmarine dynasty, an interactive exhibit featuring Caspian the Seafarer and his ship the _Dawn Treader._

Of course, more recent history was on display too — 100 Years of Court Fashions was always a huge crowd-pleaser, and just this morning, Helena and her staff had gone over plans for a Culture of the Lone Islands exhibit. The toll taken on the Islands after the most recent hurricane had been devastating, and the proceeds from the exhibit would go to helping rebuild.

Helena was only the third female Chief Curator of the museum in 200 years, and the first with Dryad blood. It was her dream job, really, and some days, she still couldn't believe it was hers. She'd grown up in a little town outside of Beruna, daughter of a Human mother, and father with dryad blood. Hers wasn't the only family of mixed heritage, and she was lucky to grow up there, she knew, especially after having lived in Paravel City for so many years. Her sisters had teased her all through childhood, about always having her head in books. They'd predicted she'd grow up to be a librarian, but Helena (who liked to believe she was named for the first Narnian Queen, as opposed to Grandma Helen) had turned to history. Twenty years of schooling and two Ph.D.s later, and after several years as an under-curator at the museum, Helena had won the prize — Chief Curator.

She was proud of her work, proud of her staff, proud of the museum — particularly so when another grant or award from a private funder found its way into the museum's coffers. The Narnian Crown and the citizens knew and appreciated the hard work done by the curators, the historians, and all the staff, and were always very generous. 

Still, she was most proud when she saw the awe in children's eyes at all the items on display, when she could help Narnian history come alive for a new generation. She didn't always get the chance to lead the school tours, too busy with what some would consider "more important" work. But when she was free, she always jumped at the chance.

Today it was a group of children from one of Paravel City's private schools — Lion Heart Academy. The children ran the gamut from pre-school to teenagers, and Helena had split the tour with two docents, who took the younger groups and their chaperones off to the children's wing, while Helena led the smaller group of older teens.

They'd started in the rooms of ancient history, with the earliest days of the Frank I's reign — this was always popular with the older students, Helena had found. It was so long ago it was difficult to imagine for most teenagers — not just a life without electricity and cars and television and mobile phones, but a life without Humans, for the most part, aside from the King and Queen. The non-Humans always seemed particularly interested in this era — it was easy to spot the ones who supported the True Narnians League, and in this group, three girls with obvious Dryad heritage and two Faun boys were the most eager, peppering her with questions about non-Human rights, and by what right did the Museum have possession of the earliest examples of Dwarf metalworks. While Helena patiently explained that the items were donated by private collectors, or on loan from either the Palace Archives at Cair Paravel, or The Ironway Dwarf Trust, she noticed another group studying the painting of two children on a Winged Horse.

The group caught her eye, because amongst the boys and girls was a Talking Mouse. Talking Animals were definitely a minority in Paravel City these days — they had been since the Second Civil War, almost a hundred years earlier. They still faced prejudice and discrimination in the city, and most Animals preferred to stay in western Narnia, even after the Relocation laws were repealed after the War. Cities such as Chippingford, Beaversdam, Pevenston, and Upper Falls all had large and thriving populations of Talking Animals, as well as Humans and Non-Humans. Helena's second Ph.D. was from Beaversdam University, and one of her closest friends in the program had been Marlys, a lovely and brilliant Fox from Lantern Waste.

Very unlike Paravel City, Helena thought sadly, watching as the young Mouse pointed to the picture, chattering eagerly to the girls next to him. This was a rarity, especially at a private school such as Lion Heart. The Mouse must be a scholarship student, she surmised, winner of one of the prestigious Queen's Scholarships to a school normally far out of Talking Animals' reach.

She drifted closer to the group, and what she overheard confirmed her guess. The Mouse was telling the others about the Lord Digory and the Lady Polly, the two children on the back of the Winged Horse. "They went into the West, at Aslan's order, and brought back the apple, from which he planted the Tree of Protection."

One of the taller boys, dark haired and with a mean look on his face, scoffed at that. "Fairy tales! There were no Lord Digory or Lady Polly! It's just a creation myth. Just like the tree of protection is a myth too. Isn't it, Miss?" he demanded, rounding on Helena, while others in the group nodded and laughed at the idea.

The Mouse was bristling at that, and the girl next to him put a hand on his shoulder, murmuring to him. As rare as it was to see Talking Animals with a school group, it was even rarer to see friendship between Humans and Animals. It warmed Helena's heart to see that four of the children drew closer to the Mouse, as if attempting to protect him from the scorn of the other teens.

"Well, it's true that Lord Digory and Lady Polly only show up in that one story, and not in any other early Narnian history," Helena said slowly. "Many scholars have concluded that they never existed at all, and were added to give an additional Human presence, besides King Frank and Queen Helen, in that time. However, some journals of Queen Helen exist where they were mentioned, so we cannot discount them entirely."

The dark-haired boy looked a bit sulky at that response, but Helena noticed the Mouse seemed quite pleased. "As for the Winged Horse — while it's true there are none in Narnia in the present day, they're certainly not a myth. There's ample evidence of their existence. In fact, in the next room, you'll see a skeleton of a Winged Horse, and some artifacts recovered from one of their last settlements in the country, almost a thousand years ago."

Most of the students rushed away at her words, eager to see the next exhibit. Helena followed after them, and the young Mouse and his four friends came along after her, moving a little slower than the rest of their schoolmates.

It continued the same through the rest of the tour, Helena noticed. Most of the teens would rush up to the exhibits, ask a few questions, stay longer at the popular ones — the _Dawn Treader_ reproduction remained an eternal favorite, as well as the Harfang Collection. But the Mouse and his four Human friends lingered at all the exhibits, talking quietly amongst themselves, staring in awe at some of the treasures on display. Helena thought it might be nice to spend more time with this group personally, but she couldn't play favorites, as much as she would have liked, and all the students had questions that needed answers.

Still, sometimes she would step closer to them and overhear a snippet of conversation, or notice the awed looks on their faces at some of the exhibits. The Humans seemed particularly taken by the Golden Age Artifacts room — the oldest boy staring at sword and shield of High King Peter in their glass case for a long time. 

"They're not reproductions, you know," Helena told him.

The boy glanced at her, a quizzical look at his face. "Sorry?"

"The sword and shield," she explained. "Usually we have reproductions of them on display — the Abelard reproductions from the late Caspian dynasty. They're very good, and of great historical value on their own. But these are the real things, on loan from the Royal Archives at Cair Paravel. They've hung in the throne room there for hundreds of years, since the reign of Tirian II. But last month the palace loaned them to us for this exhibition. It's the first time they've been on public display in years."

The boy seemed speechless for a moment, as he turned to stare again at the crimson lion emblazoned on the ancient shield, but he finally spoke. "Imagine being that old."

"It's something, isn't it?" Helena said. "We're very lucky to have them here."

"We're very lucky to see them," the boy said in an agreeable tone, giving her a smile. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're very welcome." Helena was about to explain that everything else in the Golden Age Exhibit was authentic as well when the Mouse let out a loud squeak. 

"This doesn't belong here!"

Helena and the boy hurried over to the case where the rest of the group — another boy, two girls, and the Mouse — were gathered. The item that caused the uproar was a torch, old and bit rusty, but still in working order, as Helena well knew.

"Oh yes," she said. "Many people think the torch doesn't belong in the Golden Age Exhibit. They think it's the wrong era, and to be fair, it does look like something that comes from the Second Civil War days. It's far too advanced technology to be with all the Golden Age items. But it truly is that old — we've done many tests on it, and it dates back thousands and thousands of years, nearly as old as the crowns of the Pevensie Kings and Queens. And in all historical records, including ancient scrolls, it's said to be the Torch of King Edmund the Just, called Lightbringer. That's how it was labeled when the Palace Archives shipped it over."

The four Humans were staring at her as if they couldn't believe a word she said. "Lightbringer?" the younger boy repeated in a stunned tone, and the youngest girl giggled.

"I know, most people can't understand it, and it really _is_ a mystery — archeologists and historians still haven't figured it out."

"But it's the wrong era," the Mouse said, in his high piping voice. "I don't mean that it belongs in these… modern times, but it should be in that other exhibit — Caspian's Revolution."

Helena smiled at him, delighted. "Oh, so you've studied that era in class then! Yes, it's true, there is some debate about the Lightbringer Torch — it first shows up in history during Caspian X's Revolution, when the Pevensies were said to have reappeared in Narnia to assist him in his war for the Throne."

"Is that a myth too?" the older girl asked, a strange look on her face.

Helena shrugged. "There's nothing definitive. Some say it is — after all, how could the Pevensie Kings and Queens show up in Narnia a thousand years after their reign? Still there is so much detail about their presence in the archives, that there are many who believe it to be true, Aslanist scholars, the Centaur Skywatch Sect… and of course, those who claim to be Pevensie descendants."

This sent the younger girl into another fit of giggles, while the rest seemed shocked by her explanation. "Pevensie descendants? Really?"

"Well, nothing that can be proven. It's almost as hard to prove as those who claim to be descended from King Frank I. But the Pevensie people are very insistent — surely you've seen the news about how they've petitioned the King to have the Royal Gifts returned to them."

The Humans and Mouse all shrugged, and Helena had to remind herself that even with an interest in history, they _were_ teenagers after all. "Yes, just recently. There are even some that claim they're The Four Reborn, and the rightful owners of The High King's sword and shield, Queen Susan's bow and horn, Queen Lucy's cordial and dagger, and of course…" She gestured at the case, and the younger boy finished her sentence.

"King Edmund's torch. Lightbringer." He still said the word like he couldn't believe it, and once again the younger girl giggled.

"Right." Helena nodded. "They're talking about taking it to the courts, but of course, there's no way to prove actual Pevensie descent, let alone the nonsense of being the Four Reborn. And even if they had some kind of proof, the Palace would never give up the Royal Gifts."

The younger girl stopped giggling at that, and fixed Helena with a serious look. "But what if they could prove it? What if the Four were really reborn?"

Helena almost laughed at the question, but the girl's tone stopped her. "Well…. I'd guess they better have some real proof then. But I don't know what that would be. I can't imagine how anyone could ever prove such a thing."

A shout at the other end of the room — right in front the painting of Queen Susan Bathing With Merpeople, of course, as always — caught Helena's attention at the moment. "Excuse me," she said, turning to see what the commotion was (it was Queen Susan's depiction in the nude. It always was), leaving the Humans and the Mouse to continue arguing over King Edmund's Torch.

But it wasn't an argument she overheard as she started to walk away. It was a question, posed by the Mouse.

"Well, how _are_ you going to prove it?"

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me how they prove it. ;)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Behind the scenes of A Visit to the Museum, or there's no feud like an academic feud](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16450175) by [Adaese](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adaese/pseuds/Adaese)




End file.
